For those of us who have a critical perspective on Wall Street and the power that raw capitalism commands over the lives and economies of billions of people around the world, yet know not that much about how that happens in the interplay between the stock market, central banks and currency, you should read the article I’m linking at the bottom of this post (warning: it's a bit long).

The article gives a detailed behind-the-curtains explanation of what has been going on over the past couple of months, amid the Coronavirus crisis that has brought the economic system to its knees. For non-economists like me, it is a fascinating (and truly terrifying) read, but it also points to a few of things that give a glimpse of how capitalism and the world of economics will be severely transformed by this crisis. These are, of course, my own conclusions (not those of the author of the article):

The world where huge corporations (such as Amazon, airlines, Google, etc.) are more important than governments is largely over. Sure, these companies still reap enormous profit and they are favored by economic policy, but it is clear they are not the ones in power and that States (particularly the US, the European Union, and the Chinese government) must intervene in order for the economy to even exist. In other words, there really is no such thing as a free market. This realization means that State institutions (and central banks, in particular) will be newly empowered in the face of upcoming economic crises during and after the Coronavirus one (in particular, the prediction of a student loan crisis in the US over the next few years, for instance, could potentially be acted on through swift policy).
Because it is now absolutely clear that large companies and corporations are only interested in profit regardless of who dies or whose lives are at risk, public opinion and governments can no longer tolerate the story of "trickle down" economics (which, believe it or not, is still a very powerful story among conservative voters, both in the US and the UK). This is no longer a normative or an ideological debate, it is something that people see with their own eyes on an everyday basis. This has been coming for a long time now, however this is no longer an idea exclusive to the Left. Instead, corporative greed is assumed as normal and self-evident and there will be pressure from below for governments to act on it. Again, public opinion matters.
There is no such thing as an economy without basic social structures (such as healthcare and education institutions). In the wake of the Corona virus crisis (both in human and economic terms), it is self-evident that well-funded public universal healthcare is absolutely necessary to keep modern economies afloat. This is not only a human right, but also an economic necessity.

Anyway, these are my conclusions after reading this article. The inner workings of economic systems are fascinating, but we all could do a little more to understand the details of what's happening behind news headlines, especially if we are going to have a critical perspective on it.

Read: How Coronavirus Almos Brought Down the Global Financial System